A military newspaper has revealed that Taiwanese and American warships recently had an unplanned encounter off Hawaii. After protocols were observed, the encounter concluded with an exchange of friendly greetings.
The report said that two Taiwanese destroyers with accompanying frigates were taking part in a training mission when they intercepted an unknown signal. They later found the signal had been sent by the destroyer USS Chaffee. The Taiwanese fleet established communication following the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea. The code was established in 2014.
After contact was established, the US warship suggested sailing close to the Taiwanese vessels and greetings were exchanged via flag signals.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Chen Chung-chi said the encounter was a good experience for the sailors involved.
Chen said, “For our sailors, this was a good experience for their training. What we demonstrated in the process was that our sailors are always ready with the preparations and drills [for this type of encounter] and this for us was a good learning experience.”
After the exchange of flag signals, the USS Chaffee radioed the Taiwanese fleet with the greeting “Aloha” before sailing on.